Read Bio
Since 1979, Dov Apfel has been passionate about advocating for birth injury and medical malpractice victims. Mr. Apfel’s career-long record of achievements in birth injury litigation, education, and advocacy has been recognized by the Executive Board of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. His expertise is demonstrated by his numerous awards, presentations on birth injury topics at legal conferences for organizations like the AAJ and ATLA, and articles published by Trial Magazine and many others.
Read Bio
Since 1979, Dov Apfel has been passionate about advocating for birth injury and medical malpractice victims. Mr. Apfel’s career-long record of achievements in birth injury litigation, education, and advocacy has been recognized by the Executive Board of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. His expertise is demonstrated by his numerous awards, presentations on birth injury topics at legal conferences for organizations like the AAJ and ATLA, and articles published by Trial Magazine and many others.
Key Takeaways
You go to the doctor looking for answers, only to have your symptoms dismissed or misdiagnosed. As a result, your condition worsens, and you later discover that your provider overlooked something serious. This type of scenario happens all too often in Chicago, and it could signal that medical negligence is at play.
A delayed diagnosis can mean more invasive treatment, fewer options, or long-term complications that you might have avoided with earlier care. In many cases, a second opinion from another provider can uncover what your doctor missed and help you understand what should have happened when you first sought their care. If you believe a second medical opinion could have changed the outcome of your care, Levin & Perconti can review your case and help you pursue accountability if your care fell short.
What Is a Delayed Diagnosis?
A delayed diagnosis happens when a health care provider fails to identify a medical condition within a reasonable timeframe. This can allow a condition to worsen unnecessarily before treatment begins or limit the patient’s treatment options once the condition is eventually diagnosed. As a result, the patient may suffer more serious harm than they would have if the provider had diagnosed the condition earlier.
Delayed diagnosis may qualify as medical malpractice if it involves a violation of the standard of care. This means the provider did not act as a reasonably competent professional would under similar circumstances.
Not every delay involves negligence. Some conditions are difficult to detect, even with appropriate care. The strength of a delayed diagnosis case depends on whether the provider could have made the diagnosis sooner and whether the delay caused additional harm.
Real Cases Where a Second Opinion Could Have Made a Difference
These real-life stories show how missed warning signs and delayed action can alter the course of a patient’s life. In each situation, earlier intervention could have led to a very different outcome.
Ignored X-Ray Results Cause Cancer to Spread
A woman underwent chest X-rays before back surgery, which showed an abnormality in her lung. Her doctors failed to communicate the findings or order follow-up testing, and her cancer remained undiagnosed for nearly two years.
Eventually, the woman complained to her primary care physician of coughing and shortness of breath. Her doctor performed a new series of chest X-rays and diagnosed the cancer, which had grown three-fold and spread to her brain.
Experts testified that her survival odds would have been at least 65% if the cancer had been diagnosed at the time of the first X-rays, but that number dropped to less than 5% when she finally received a diagnosis. Our attorneys achieved a $14 million jury verdict after proving that the failure to communicate critical test results caused the woman’s cancer to spread unnecessarily.
Takeaway: Failing to act on abnormal findings can turn an early-stage, treatable condition into a life-threatening diagnosis.
Failure To Recognize Infection Causes Fatal Sepsis
A 61-year-old woman who was born with only one kidney was admitted to the hospital for treatment of a kidney stone. Early records showed signs of a kidney infection and a blocked urinary system, but the medical team failed to diagnose and treat the infection in time. Over the next 26 hours, her condition progressed to sepsis.
A timely intervention with antibiotics and a simple procedure to drain the kidney likely would have resulted in a full recovery for the woman. Instead, she suffered a preventable death. The failure to act on obvious warning signs and risk factors became central to the case, allowing our attorneys to secure an $8 million wrongful death settlement for the family.
Takeaway: Failing to address a routine infection can allow a manageable condition to become fatal.
Delayed C-Section Leads to Fetal Brain Damage
A first-time mother arrived at the hospital at 40 weeks pregnant to deliver her baby. During labor, there were clear signs of fetal distress, but the medical team did not act quickly to perform a cesarean section. This delay meant the baby was not delivered in time to prevent oxygen deprivation.
The lack of timely intervention led to a diagnosis of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and the child was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The condition caused permanent, life-altering impairments affecting movement and coordination. Our team secured an $18 million settlement for the family, using expert analysis and strong courtroom advocacy to prove the connection between the delayed C-section and the child’s injuries.
Takeaway: Delays in responding to clear warning signs during labor can lead to lifelong harm.
Examples of Commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Conditions
Some conditions are more prone to misdiagnosis than others, including:
- Cancer, especially colorectal, lung, breast, prostate, and bladder cancers
- Stroke
- Heart attack and heart failure
- Sepsis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Brain hemorrhage
- Pneumonia
- Kidney failure
- Urinary tract infections
These conditions often involve symptoms that overlap with less serious issues or develop gradually over time. In many cases, the warning signs are there, but they require providers to connect the dots and act promptly. The complex nature of many of these conditions means that even a slight misstep can lead to a delayed or incorrect diagnosis.
Types of Care Failures That May Lead To Misdiagnosis
Health care providers may miss diagnoses for several reasons. A doctor may ignore a patient’s complaints, fail to order appropriate tests, misread imaging or lab results, or overlook signs of illness during an exam.
Poor follow-up may also play a role when a provider receives abnormal test results but fails to notify the patient or delays reviewing those results. In some cases, a provider may fail to refer the patient to a specialist when the situation calls for a more advanced evaluation.
These care failures may rise to the level of negligence when they don’t match what a reasonable provider with similar training and experience would do under the same circumstances. If the delay was avoidable and led to a worse outcome, it may support a medical malpractice claim.
The Power of a Second Opinion
A second opinion can change the entire course of a patient’s treatment. When another provider reviews your symptoms or records, they may identify something that the other doctor previously overlooked or recognize the need for further testing.
This fresh perspective can be critical in time-sensitive situations, where earlier intervention may improve the outcome. It can also provide a clearer understanding of whether your care met the appropriate standard if your condition already worsened due to a delayed diagnosis. This information can potentially form the basis of a misdiagnosis lawsuit.
One man’s story illustrates the power of a second opinion. After he experienced unusual chest discomfort, he received treatment for a heart attack at the hospital and was discharged with more questions than answers. Wanting clarity, he sought a second opinion from a specialist, who confirmed parts of the original diagnosis but recommended additional testing and lifestyle modifications. This deeper review helped him better understand his condition and gave him access to more thoughtful and complete medical care.
Get Answers From Our Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyers
A delayed diagnosis can cause lasting and preventable harm. If you suspect that care failures contributed to poorer health outcomes, it may be worth taking a closer look at what happened.
Once you get a second medical opinion, Levin & Perconti will be ready to listen to your story, analyze your medical records, and help you identify if medical malpractice is at play. From there, our Chicago misdiagnosis lawyers can build a strong case proving your provider’s negligence and pursue the compensation you deserve.
Our firm has recovered over $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for injured people and their families. Let us put that track record to work for you. Contact us online or call 312-332-2872 to start moving forward with a free consultation.
